The difficulty of Stage 19 made Tour de France leader Chris Froome "quite nervous." But once he got through it with his big lead intact, the Brit finally started to allow his mind to fast-forward to Sunday's finish in Paris.

The last Alpine stage on Saturday -- 77 miles -- won't be enough for second-place Alberto Contador to puncture Froome's cushion of more than five minutes. In all but name, the 28-year-old is champion of the 100th Tour.

"One more day to really stay concentrated," Froome said.

Friday's 127-mile trek wound past peaks so high that their snows have resisted the July sun. It began with two HC climbs and ended with two Category 1 ascents before a long downhill to Le Grand-Bornand. Rui Costa won the stage with a solo breakaway.

NBA

Mark Madsen, a former Stanford star who was part of the Los Angeles Lakers' championship teams in 2001 and 2002, was hired as the team's player development coach. In May, he was hired to coach the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League. Instead, he'll help Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni, who says Madsen "has endless energy and is a workaholic."

Dallas signed former Milwaukee center Samuel Dalembert to a reported two-year, $7.5 million deal.

Golf

Pleasanton native Paula Creamer shared the lead and top-ranked Inbee Park was lurking at the Marathon Classic in Sylvania, Ohio. Creamer, who won here five years ago, shot a 3-under 68 for a 134 total. Also at 8 under were Beatriz Recari (65) and Alison Walshe (69). Park (69) was two shots off the lead.

Advertisement

Six players were tied atop the leader board at the weather-plagued Sanderson Farms Championship in Madison, Miss. Vaughn Taylor (5-under 67), Fabian Gomez (64), Paul Stankowski (68), Troy Matteson (67) and Kyle Reifers (69) were at 10-under 134. Daniel Summerhays also was 10 under but completed only eight holes before play was suspended.

Mark Rypien had an eagle and three birdies to take a two-point lead after the first round of the American Century Championship at Stateline, Nev. He had 27 points at Edgewood Tahoe under the modified Stableford scoring system. Lucas Black was second. John Elway, Stephen Curry and Jeremy Roenick shared fourth at 22.

NFL

Six current or former Dallas players were listed by prosecutors as potential witnesses for the intoxication manslaughter trial of former lineman Josh Brent. Cornerback Michael Jenkins, now a Raider, was on the list. Brent is charged in a Dec. 8 car crash that killed practice squad player Jerry Brown. His trial will begin Sept. 23.

Tito Vilanova, 44, is stepping down as Barcelona's coach after a recurrence of throat cancer. He twice previously had to take a medical break from his duties at Barcelona.

Bert Trautmann, a former German World War II prisoner of war who became Manchester City's goalkeeper and helped the team win the FA Cup despite a broken neck for the last 17 minutes of the 1956 final, died. He was 89.

Track and field

Justin Gatlin won the 100 meters in 9.94 seconds at the Herculis meet in Monaco. Dentarius Locke finished 0.02 seconds back. Gatlin is the only sprinter to beat Usain Bolt this year.

Tennis

Roger Federer prevailed 7-6 (4), 3-6, 7-5 over Florian Mayer at the German Championships in Hamburg. Federer will play qualifier Federico Delbonis on Saturday. It's Fabio Fognini vs. Nicolas Almagro in the other semifinal.